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Gravity Drive Ways
A gravity drive way is a set path through interstellar or intergalactic space travelled through by means of a gravity drive by spacecraft. Gravity drives generate both gravity wells, and force fields, which contain the immense generated gravitational forces, and use them to propel spaceships forward by manipulating the space and time around the ships. Gravity drives work better the further from a source of gravity that they get (i.e. gravity drives propel ships more quickly through intergalactic space than through interstellar space, and more quickly through interstellar space than through systemal space) which drive ways use to their advantage at gravity drops, allowing them to naturally slow down on approaching a landing site. Landing sites tend to generate their own gravity wells which are uncontained by force fields, allowing them to pull in ships through gravity drops. Tractor beams are generated by gravity megadrives, and can be used to capture ships, especially stolen ships, fugitive ships, pirate ships, and enemy ships. Less than a dozen pirate ships in the universe possess a tractor beam's gravity megadrive, and those that do have a massive advantage in that it allows them to pull in cargo ships/freighters, and plunder all that they can before the Universal Union, or Hammer & Sickle can intervene. Drive ways criss cross all throughout the first fifty quadrants of the Axle. An average spaceship equipped with a gravity drive would take about 100 days to travel in a straight line from the 37th Quadrant to the 50th Quadrant, the two furthest points on this Earth's side of the Deathless Abyss. The average galaxy takes about two days to cross, whilst a dwarf galaxy takes about one day to cross. The larger galaxies located near the 1st Quadrant take about fifty hours to cross, and the largest galaxy in the universe, the Triple Galaxy, takes sixty-four hours to cross. Waypoints throughout the universe are located along drive ways, usually near natural gravity drops, or in sparse intergalactic space, at space stations. Due to the immense amounts of gravity, energy, radiation, and even psychic power generated by gravity drives, ships are not allowed to pilot themselves wherever they so please. Ships are technically limited by the programming of their gravity drives to land at pre-approved landing sites. These landing sites, known as waypoint stations, are enormous, containing tens if not hundreds of blinkgates, hundreds of communications towers, huge roads to all surrounding cities (of which there are many, as waypoints tend to either have been built at the hearts of huge metropolitan areas, or otherwise had huge metropolitan areas pop up around them after their construction), factories, shipyards, refueling stations, shopping centres, restaurants, Æthernet lounges, plazas, and all other manner of things. Spaceships arrive on landing platforms, which are legally required to be located above the so-called "Cityscape Limit," a law originating in the New City of Lobtonne. The New Lobtonne Waypoint Station is by far the largest in the entire universe, with the station itself having completely built over the old Halfway Town, which had been far outside the city limits of Lobtonne. Landing platforms are numbered, and have specific parking spots set aside for ships (non-sentient A.I. assign these spots to specific ships, or otherwise ship captains pay for their preferred parking spot). If a spaceship is approved for terrestrial use then it immediately goes through a customs scan. In the case that the spaceship fails the customs scan, passengers aboard the ship either have to go through regular customs, or are taken into temporary custody by the Waypoint Guard, depending on the severity of the failure. In most cases, the spaceship will, however, pass through the customs scan, and have their parking lot descend through the station. This will take them into a large garage facility, which they can navigate through to leave the station. Ships not approved for terrestrial use have to disembark their ship onto terminal shuttles which take them into the station to go through regular customs while their ship is scanned several times. They are patted down while their items, and bodies are scanned, and officers go through their ship. This is a somewhat lengthy process, but overall much faster than travelling at standard speed through space, which only allows one to land wherever they please on certain planets. Planetary waypoint stations tend to be located in the hearts of metropolitan areas. Waypoint stations located on space stations, however, tend to be even more heavily urbanized. Floating space metropoles surround them, stretching high and wide. These waypoints tend to exist mostly as refueling stations, and so huge mining efforts pop up around them, with millions of people coming there looking for work at mining plants on surrounding spacestones, planets, and moons. The Waypoint Guard are led by High Commander Murgen Yan Yan, who led them in the Waypoint War defending against the steelmen of the Heir on Planet Anasefta. Gravity is purple. Gravity drives glow purple, gravity drive ways tint space the color purple from the perspective of starmen or passengers aboard spaceships, and spaceships leave behind purple trails whilst travelling through gravity drive ways. Because of this, waypoints are often marked on maps by purple five-pointed stars, gravity drive ways are marked on maps by purple lines, and gravity drops are sometimes referred to as "purple space" in slang. The Waypoint Guard, unified under the Universal Union, wear five-pointed purple star badges. Category:Technology Category:Huron Space Category:Spacecraft Category:Highways